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OTTAWA - With the stroke of the governor general's pen, Conservative MP Dan Albas's bill to eliminate the federal ban on transporting wine across provincial borders became law Thursday.

Shirley-Anne George, with the Canadian Alliance of Wine Consumers, says the prohibition-era rule never made sense to her.

"Can you imagine somebody in France saying that a Parisian could not order a case of wine from Burgundy?" George said. "So why is it acceptable here?"

The bill is especially important for small wineries that want to sell directly to consumers nationally.

Still, with the exceptions of Alberta and Manitoba, most provincial liquor boards limit or ban bypassing them to ship in out-of-province wine and beer for personal use.

"They do have to make some slight tinkering to their provincial rules," Canadian Vintners Association president Dan Paszkowski said. "We're hopeful that they don't put up additional barriers."

The wine freedom bill cleared the Senate earlier this month, but almost didn't make it that far because of NDP stalling.

The NDP eventually supported the bill, calling the stall a mistake.